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Abstract Leptopilina wasps are crucial for biological pest control, particularly against the globally emerging pest Drosophila suzukii. Despite their ecological significance, the genomic basis of host selection and parasitism in this genus remains underexplored. In this study, we assembled a high-quality, chromosome-level genome of Leptopilina myrica, a species collected in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China. We employed a combination of PacBio long-read sequencing, Illumina short-read sequencing, and Hi-C technology to produce a genome assembly of approximately 462.30 Mb, with a scaffold N50 of 47.32 Mb and a contig N50 of 4.07 Mb. By comparing the protein-coding genes of L. myrica with those of other Hymenoptera species, we gained insights into the evolutionary history of parasitoid wasps. This high-quality genome will provide a foundation for future research on the genetic and functional traits of parasitoid wasps, shedding light on the evolutionary dynamics of host-parasite interactions. The genome of L. myrica provides a valuable resource for future studies on host-parasite interactions and the genetic basis of parasitoid wasp biology.

Abstract Background The safety and effectiveness of short-term insemination remain a subject of controversy. This study aims to investigate the impact of short-term insemination on both embryo quality and pregnancy outcomes and whether it is necessary to apply short-term insemination to all patients underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF). Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 3,496 patients from two centers over the period January 2016 to December 2022. Of these, 1307 patients underwent IVF, 1656 patients were treated with short-term IVF, 166 patients received early rescue intracytoplasmic sperm injection (R-ICSI) and 367 patients were treated with ICSI. The clinical and neonatal outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results The rate of high-quality embryos was significantly lower in the short-term IVF group compared to the routine IVF group (59.89% vs. 68.16%) (P = 0.000), the rate of blastocyst formation was significantly lower in the short-term IVF group compared to the routine IVF group (44.99% vs. 61.34%) (P = 0.000). There were no significant differences in clinical outcomes or neonatal outcomes between the two groups, irrespective of whether fresh or frozen embryos were used (both P > 0.05). The incidence of ≥ 3PN demonstrated no significant difference between the early R-ICSI and ICSI groups (1.04% vs. 0.66%) (P = 0.114), furthermore, the clinical outcomes were similar in both groups, for both fresh and frozen embryos (both P > 0.05). Conclusions For patients with primary fertility, short-term IVF combined with early R-ICSI can effectively prevent potential low fertilization or fertilization failure, reduce the risk of patients with no transferable embryo, avoid the waste of resources and had no adverse effects on neonatal outcomes. However, short-term IVF reduced the oocytes utilization rate in one single oocyte pick-up cycle, for patients with no risk factors for fertilization failure, the overnight fertilization is still one of the most important ways of insemination worthy of affirmation. Trial registration NA.

Abstract Residue-free and highly efficient techniques for drinking water disinfection are urgently needed. Herein, we report an electrochemical water disinfection system equipped with atomically precise Ag28 nanoclusters (NCs) as electrode materials. The deployment of these Ag28 NCs not only provides sufficient electrosorption sites for intelligent microbe enrichment but also ensures high-efficiency dual-mode microbial killing through the in situ electrocatalytic production of residue-free reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the inherent antimicrobial activity of Ag28 NCs. Moreover, the design of the system enables a cyclical “alive microbe capture–killing–dead microbe desorption” process for continuous water disinfection. On this basis, this water disinfection system is efficient against broad-spectrum microbes (with >99.99% antimicrobial activity), durable (with a performance reduction of only 0.75% over 40 cycles and 99.90% antimicrobial efficiency for over 5 h of continuous operation), versatile (i.e., other NCs can be used), scalable (with water productivity of 213.33 L h−1 m− 2), energy efficient (with a low energy consumption of 4.91 Wh m− 3; 1.04 Wh m− 3 without the pumping cost) and applicable for various real water samples. This study may open new avenues for global water disinfection techniques.

Objective: To analyze the impact of using music therapy to improve the sleep quality and mental health of nurses who suffer from circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Methods: Our retrospective analysis included 360 nurses with circadian rhythm sleep disorders from 20 different departments who worked in Wuhan Third Hospital for more than 1 year from May 2022 to May 2023. A total of 180 nurses with circadian rhythm sleep disorders were classified as the control group (received melatonin receptor agonist Melatonin Receptor Type 2 [MT2]). The other 180 cases were classified into the observation group (received melatonin receptor agonist MT2 + music therapy). After six courses of treatment, the clinical efficacy, Self-Assessment Anxiety Scale (SAS) score, Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Scale (PSQI) score of the two groups of nurses were compared. Results: Before treatment, no statistically significant differences in baseline treatment and SAS, SDS, and PSQI scores were found between the two groups. After treatment, the total effective rate of treatment in the observation group was 85.56%, which was significantly higher than the 50.56% in the control group (P < 0.001). After treatment, the SAS, SDS and PSQI scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The SAS, SDS and PSQI scores of both groups were lower after treatment than they were before treatment (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Implementing music therapy for nurses with circadian rhythm sleep disorders caused by shifts can improve sleep quality and reduce negative emotions. It is a clinical strategy with clinical application value and a certain promotion value.

Abstract The goal of this work is to develop a Machine Learning model to predict the need for both invasive and non‐invasive mechanical ventilation in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Using the Philips eICU Research Institute (ERI) database, 2.6 million ICU patient data from 2010 to 2019 were analyzed. This data was randomly split into training (63%), validation (27%), and test (10%) sets. Additionally, an external test set from a single hospital from the ERI database was employed to assess the model's generalizability. Model performance was determined by comparing the model probability predictions with the actual incidence of ventilation use, either invasive or non‐invasive. The model demonstrated a prediction performance with an AUC of 0.921 for overall ventilation, 0.937 for invasive, and 0.827 for non‐invasive. Factors such as high Glasgow Coma Scores, younger age, lower BMI, and lower PaCO2 were highlighted as indicators of a lower likelihood for the need for ventilation. The model can serve as a retrospective benchmarking tool for hospitals to assess ICU performance concerning mechanical ventilation necessity. It also enables analysis of ventilation strategy trends and risk‐adjusted comparisons, with potential for future testing as a clinical decision tool for optimizing ICU ventilation management.

The Pselaphodes Westwood complex of genera is represented in Hubei Province by four genera and eight species. Recent field work at Wanchaoshan Nature Reserve, Xingshan County revealed a small series of material belonging to this complex. In this paper, we describe Pselaphodes wanchaoshanus sp. nov. and provide new faunistic data for P. nomurai Yin, Li & Zhao. A key to the hitherto known members of Pselaphodes complex that occur in Hubei is provided to facilitate ready species identification.

Abstract Background Hepatic steatosis and its related complications are risk factors for multiple respiratory diseases; however, the causal relationship between metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and pulmonary function remains controversial. We aimed to identify it using a national cohort and Mendelian randomization (MR). Methods We enrolled 30,442 participants from the 2007 to 2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Demographics, pulmonary function indices (forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1], forced vital capacity [FVC]), and variables used to calculate the liver fat score (LFS) were collected. A two-sample MR analysis employing the summary data of genome-wide association studies on MASLD and FEV1/FVC, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and asthma from the Finngen Biobank and Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit was performed. Results A total of 3,462 participants, 1,335 of whom had MASLD (LFS > -0.640), were finally included in the study. The FEV1 (3,204.7 vs. 3,262.5 ml, P = 0.061), FVC (4,089.1 vs. 4,143.8 ml, P = 0.146), FEV1/FVC ratio (78.5% vs. 78.8%, P = 0.233), and FEV1/predicted FEV1 ratio (146.5% vs. 141.7%, P = 0.366) were not significantly different between people with MASLD and those without. Additionally, the MR analysis suggested no causal correlation between MASLD and FEV1/FVC (P = 0.817), MASLD and COPD (P = 0.407), and MASLD and asthma (P = 0.808). Reverse MR studies showed no causal relationships yet (all P > 0.05). Conclusion Our study provides convincing evidence that there is no causal association between MASLD and pulmonary function.

Abstract Cation exchanger (CAX) genes play an important role in plant growth/development and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here, we tried to obtain important information on the functionalities and phenotypic effects of CAX gene family by systematic analyses of their expression patterns, genetic diversity (gene CDS haplotypes, structural variations, gene presence/absence variations) in 3010 rice genomes and nine parents of 496 Huanghuazhan introgression lines, the frequency shifts of the predominant gcHaps at these loci to artificial selection during modern breeding, and their association with tolerances to several abiotic stresses. Significant amounts of variation also exist in the cis-regulatory elements (CREs) of the OsCAX gene promoters in 50 high-quality rice genomes. The functional differentiation of OsCAX gene family were reflected primarily by their tissue and development specific expression patterns and in varied responses to different treatments, by unique sets of CREs in their promoters and their associations with specific agronomic traits/abiotic stress tolerances. Our results indicated that OsCAX1a and OsCAX2 as general signal transporters were in many processes of rice growth/development and responses to diverse environments, but they might be of less value in rice improvement. OsCAX1b, OsCAX1c, OsCAX3 and OsCAX4 was expected to be of potential value in rice improvement because of their associations with specific traits, responsiveness to specific abiotic stresses or phytohormones, and relatively high gcHap and CRE diversity. Our strategy was demonstrated to be highly efficient to obtain important genetic information on genes/alleles of specific gene family and can be used to systematically characterize the other rice gene families.

High-power O-mode radio waves can excite artificial instabilities in the F region, according to experiments conducted at the European Incoherent Scatter Science Association (EISCAT) heating facility. The main instabilities include the parametric decay instability (PDI), oscillating two-stream instability (OTSI), and thermal parametric instability (TPI). The PDI and OTSI not only compete with each other, but also compete with the TPI, leading to a two-stage overshoot phenomenon: a miniovershoot occurs on a millisecond time scale after pump-on, followed by the main overshoot. We gain insight into the miniovershoot via a generalized Zakharov model, whereas the main overshoot can be observed as an enhanced plasma line overshoot phenomenon in incoherent scatter radar spectra. We can also observe that the zero-frequency ion line exists only in the initial heating period after a cold start and that the upshifted and downshifted ion lines behave irregularly in the spectra. The simulation results show that competition between the PDI and OTSI leads to an initial peak, which we named the pre-miniovershoot. The following processes, namely ion density caviton generation, and collapse and cascade in the development of the PDI, contribute to the miniovershoot phenomenon.

In recent years, the preparation of OPO (1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyltriglyceride)-structured lipids through immobilized lipase catalysis has emerged as a research hotspot in the fields of food and biomedical sciences. OPO structured lipids, renowned for their unique molecular structure and biological functions, find wide applications in infant formula milk powder, functional foods, and nutritional supplements. Lipase-catalyzed reactions, known for their efficiency, high selectivity, and mild conditions, are ideal for the synthesis of OPO structured lipids. Immobilized lipases not only address the issues of poor stability and difficult recovery of free enzymes but also enhance catalytic efficiency and reaction controllability. This review summarizes the latest advancements in the synthesis of OPO structured lipids using immobilized lipases, focusing on immobilization methods, enhancements in enzyme activity and stability, the optimization of reaction conditions, and improvements in product purity and yield. Furthermore, it delves into the reaction mechanisms of enzymatic synthesis of OPO structured lipids, process optimization strategies, and the challenges and broad prospects faced during industrial applications.

A low-cost, wavelength-tunable single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) thulium–holmium co-doped fiber laser (THDFL) in a 2 μm band with a simple structure is described in the present paper. To obtain a stable SLM and narrow laser linewidth, a five-coupler-based three-ring (FCTR) filter is utilized in the ring cavity of the fiber laser. Tunable SLM wavelength output from THDFLs with kHz linewidths can be achieved by designing the FCTR filter with an effective free-spectral range and a 3 dB bandwidth at the main resonant peak. The measurement results show that the laser is in the SLM lasing state, with a highly stabilized optical spectrum, a linewidth of approximately 9.45 kHz, an optical signal-to-noise ratio as high as 73.6 dB, and a relative intensity noise of less than −142.66 dB/Hz. Furthermore, the wavelength can be tuned in the range of 2.6 nm. The proposed fiber laser has a wide range of applications, including coherence optical communication, optical fiber sensing, and dense wavelength-division-multiplexing.

The success of an organism depends on the molecular and ecological adaptations that promote its beneficial fitness. Parasitoids are valuable biocontrol agents for successfully managing agricultural pests, and they have evolved diversified strategies to adapt to both the physiological condition of hosts and the competition of other parasitoids. Here, we deconstructed the parasitic strategies in a highly successful parasitoid, Trichopria drosophilae, which parasitizes a broad range of Drosophila hosts, including the globally invasive species D. suzukii. We found that T. drosophilae had developed specialized venom proteins that arrest host development to obtain more nutrients via secreting tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), as well as a unique type of cell—teratocytes—that digest host tissues for feeding by releasing trypsin proteins. In addition to the molecular adaptations that optimize nutritional uptake, this pupal parasitoid has evolved ecologically adaptive strategies including the conditional tolerance of intraspecific competition to enhance parasitic success in older hosts and the obligate avoidance of interspecific competition with larval parasitoids. Our study not only demystifies how parasitoids weaponize themselves to colonize formidable hosts but also provided empirical evidence of the intricate coordination between the molecular and ecological adaptations that drive evolutionary success.

The coarsening of strengthening phases, phase transformations, and interface stability between these phases and the matrix play a crucial role in determining the strength, ductility, and heat resistance of aluminum alloys fabricated through additive manufacturing (AM). In this study, a heat exposure experiment at 400 °C for 1 h was conducted on the laser powder bed fused Al–Ce–Mg alloy. A comprehensive analysis of the microstructural evolution, phase composition, interfacial bonding strength, and mechanical properties before and after heat exposure was performed using synchrotron X-ray diffraction techniques, first-principles calculations, transmission electron microscopy, and mechanical testing. For the first time, a phase transformation from Al11Ce3 to Al4Ce was discovered. Some semi-coherent relationships of [301]Al11Ce3//[011]Al, (060)Al11Ce3//(00)Al were transformed into coherent relationships of [001]Al4Ce//[001]Al, (200)Al4Ce//(00)Al, and the interfacial energy was reduced by 4.385 J m−2. In-situ Al11Ce3 nano-networks after heat exposure were retained and Al4Ce nanoparticles contribute to the thermal stability of the alloy by hindering dislocation motion and grain coarsening. The strength of the heat exposure alloy reached up to 416 MPa, which is about 95 % of the strength of the as-fabricated state and the elongation increased from 9.3 % to 13.8 %. These results provide a new approach for the design of high strength-ductility synergy and heat-resistant aluminum alloys via AM.

Abstract Objective To study the outcome of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women with cervical pathology results of non-cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or cervical cancer and positive high-risk HPV test, as well as analyze the associated risk factors affecting the outcome of infection. Methods To investigate the outcome of high-risk (HR)-HPV infection in the female genital tract and analyze the associated risk factors affecting their outcome, a total of 196 women with positive HR-HPV test results and non-CIN or cervical cancer cervical pathology results were selected for follow-up at the Cervical Disease Clinic of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine from January 2017 to March 2020. The follow-up interval was every 6 months, and both cervical cytology (TCT) and HR-HPV testing were performed at each follow-up visit. If the cervical cytology results were normal upon recheck and the HR-HPV test was negative, the woman was considered to be cleared of the HPV infection and was entered into the routine cervical screening population. When the repeat HR-HPV test remained positive after 6 months, the woman was defined as having a persistent HR-HPV infection. If HR-HPV persisted but the TCT results were normal, follow-up was continued. If HR-HPV persisted and the TCT results were abnormal, a colposcopy-guided biopsy was performed immediately. In this situation, if the histological results were still non-CIN or cervical cancer, the follow-up was continued. If the histological results confirmed the development of CIN or invasive cancer, then enter another study follow-up to further track its development and outcome, and the woman commenced the treatment process. The HPV infection clearance time was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the comparison of the HPV clearance rate and infection clearance time between each of the different groups was performed using aχ2 test or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate. After the univariate analysis, several significant factors were included in the Cox model and independent risk factors were analyzed. Results A total of 163 women were enrolled in this study. The median age was 40.0 years (22–67 years) and the median follow-up time was 11.5 months (6–31 months). The spontaneous clearance rate of HR-HPV infection was 51.5%, and the median time to viral clearance was 14.5 months. Age and the initial viral load were high risk factors affecting the spontaneous clearance of HR-HPV infection. The factors significantly associated with HPV clearance rate and time to HPV clearance consisted of menopause and full-term delivery (P

An eleven-wavelength-switchable thulium-doped fiber laser was proposed and demonstrated, incorporating an improved geta-shaped cavity providing bidirectional amplification, and a sandwich four-mode fiber Mach–Zehnder interferometer filter with curvature sensitivity. The filter was fabricated by splicing a segment of four-mode fiber (FMF) between two segments of a no-core fiber (NCF), with two segments of a single mode fiber (SMF) fused outside the two NCFs, and the structural order was SMF-NCF-FMF-NCF-SMF (SNFNS). The mode interference of the SNFNS filter was investigated theoretically in detail. The curvature characteristic was measured experimentally, and the maximum curvature sensitivity of the filter was 5.83 dB/m−1 in the ranges of 1.51 ∼ 2.26 m−1. By adjusting the curvature of the filter and polarization controllers, switchable eleven single-wavelength output can be obtained. The stability of the single-wavelength output was monitored with the fluctuations of the center wavelength and output power being less than 0.05 nm and 0.90 dB, respectively. Additionally, a slope efficiency of 9.797 % was achieved using a bidirectional amplifier configuration. The proposed laser may be suitable for mode-division multiplexing systems and optical sensor applications.

Abstract Designing a theranostic probe for noninvasive bone imaging and bone disease therapy is both challenging and desirable. Herein, an ultrasmall Au nanocluster (NC,

Overwhelming evidence points to an aberrant Wnt/β-catenin signaling as a critical factor in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cervical cancer (CC) pathogenesis. Dicerandrol C (DD-9), a dimeric tetrahydroxanthenone isolated from the endophytic fungus Phomopsis asparagi DHS-48 obtained from mangrove plant Rhizophora mangle via chemical epigenetic manipulation of the culture, has demonstrated effective anti-tumor properties, with an obscure action mechanism. The objective of the current study was to explore the efficacy of DD-9 on HepG2 and HeLa cancer cells and its functional mechanism amid the Wnt/β catenin signaling cascade. Isolation of DD-9 was carried out using various column chromatographic methods, and its structure was elucidated with 1D NMR. The cytotoxicity of DD-9 on HepG2 and HeLa cells was observed with respect to the proliferation, clonality, migration, invasion, apoptosis, cell cycle, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade. We found that DD-9 treatment significantly reduced tumor cell proliferation in dose- and time-dependent manners in HepG2 and HeLa cells. The subsequent experiments in vitro implied that DD-63 could significantly suppress the tumor clonality, metastases, and induced apoptosis, and that it arrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase of HepG2 and HeLa cells. Dual luciferase assay, Western blot, and immunofluorescence assay showed that DD-9 could dose-dependently attenuate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling by inhibiting β-catenin transcriptional activity and abrogating β-catenin translocated to the nucleus; down-regulating the transcription level of β-catenin-stimulated Wnt target gene and the expression of related proteins including p-GSK3-β, β-catenin, LEF1, Axin1, c-Myc, and CyclinD1; and up-regulating GSK3-β expression, which indicates that DD-9 stabilized the β-catenin degradation complex, thereby inducing β-catenin degradation and inactivation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The possible interaction between DD-9 and β-catenin and GSK3-β protein was further confirmed by molecular docking studies. Collectively, DD-9 may suppress proliferation and induce apoptosis of liver and cervical cancer cells, possibly at least in part via GSK3-β-mediated crosstalk with the Wnt/β-catenin signaling axis, providing insights into the mechanism for the potency of DD-9 on hepatocellular and cervical cancer.

Abstract Backgrounds The immunomodulatory properties of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) have been identified to be critical for successful pregnancy. However, the effects of hCG on peripheral γδT cells during early pregnancy have not been reported previously. Methods We cocultured the purified γδT cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with early pregnancy‐relevant hCG concentrations and investigated the changes in the immune functional characteristics of γδT cells via flow cytometry assays. Results The ratios of CD69+ and IL‐10+ γδT cells were increased in early pregnant women compared to nonpregnant women. γδT cells expressed low levels of the mannose receptor (CD206) instead of the classical hCG/LH receptor for hCG. The direct treatment of purified γδT cells with early pregnancy‐relevant hCG concentrations may have no significant effects on their immune functions. Interestingly, when PBMCs were treated with the same broad range of hCG concentrations, the ratios of CD69+ and IL‐10+ γδT cells to total γδT cells were significantly increased. Conclusion Certain early pregnancy‐relevant hCG concentrations could enhance the ratios of peripheral CD69+ and IL‐10+ γδT cells, contributing to the activation of γδT cells and immunological tolerance during early pregnancy. However, these affects may not be strongly mediated by direct ligand–receptor interactions and they may highly depend on immune microenvironment. Our novel observations propose a perspective into the endocrine‐immune dialog that exists between the fetus and maternal immune cells.

Background. An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic occurred throughout China from December 2022 to January 2023, and the vast majority of those infected individuals were mild. The symptom characteristics of mildly infected individuals in this epidemic wave of the Omicron variant have not been well described. Methods. We conducted a nationwide survey of symptomatic characteristics of nonhospitalized individuals with mild Omicron infection through a WeChat app. Results. Respondents (68.6% female) were aged 18–87 years (42.6 ± 13.1 years), of whom 79.8% were diagnosed by SARS-CoV-2 PCR or antigen test. Of the 19 symptoms predefined in the questionnaire, an average of 7.8 symptoms was reported. The most common symptoms included cough (81.2%), fever (79.9%), fatigue (73.8%), muscle soreness (62.2%), headache (59.2%), and phlegm (55.1%). Painful swallowing was present in 38.3% of the participants and was one of the most severe symptoms perceived by the participants. Also, we found that young people were more likely to have symptoms such as fever, painful swallowing, and headache compared to the elderly population. 36.9% of respondents graded their symptoms as severe, and the severity of symptoms was higher in young people than in older adults, with fever, cough, painful swallowing, fatigue, and headache being the most severe. In addition, women experienced a significantly higher prevalence of symptoms than men, but there was no significant difference in the severity of most symptoms. The presence of comorbidities did not increase the incidence or severity of symptoms in those with mildly infected individuals. Conclusions. The symptom profile of mild COVID-19 cases in the nationwide Omicron wave in China was markedly different from previous reports, featuring a high incidence of symptoms, multiple symptoms, and heavy symptoms. The symptoms of mild Omicron infection cases are not mild and are more pronounced in young people.

Photoacoustic dermoscopy (PAD) is an emerging non-invasive imaging technology aids in the diagnosis of dermatological conditions by obtaining optical absorption information of skin tissues. Despite advances in PAD, it remains unclear how to obtain quantitative accuracy of the reconstructed PAD images according to the optical and acoustic properties of multilayered skin, the wavelength and distribution of excitation light, and the detection performance of ultrasound transducers. In this work, a computing method of four-dimensional (4D) spectral-spatial imaging for PAD is developed to enable quantitative analysis and optimization of structural and functional imaging of skin. This method takes the optical and acoustic properties of heterogeneous skin tissues into account, which can be used to correct the optical field of excitation light, detectable ultrasonic field, and provide accurate single-spectrum analysis or multi-spectral imaging solutions of PAD for multilayered skin tissues. A series of experiments were performed, and simulation datasets obtained from the computational model were used to train neural networks to further improve the imaging quality of the PAD system. All the results demonstrated the method could contribute to the development and optimization of clinical PADs by datasets with multiple variable parameters, and provide clinical predictability of photoacoustic (PA) data for human skin.

BackgroundHealthcare-associated infection (HAI) remains a significant risk for hospitalized patients and a challenging burden for the healthcare system. This study presents a clinical decision support tool that can be used in clinical workflows to proactively engage secondary assessments of pre-symptomatic and at-risk infection patients, thereby enabling earlier diagnosis and treatment.MethodsThis study applies machine learning, specifically ensemble-based boosted decision trees, on large retrospective hospital datasets to develop an infection risk score that predicts infection before obvious symptoms present. We extracted a stratified machine learning dataset of 36,782 healthcare-associated infection patients. The model leveraged vital signs, laboratory measurements and demographics to predict HAI before clinical suspicion, defined as the order of a microbiology test or administration of antibiotics.ResultsOur best performing infection risk model achieves a cross-validated AUC of 0.88 at 1 h before clinical suspicion and maintains an AUC >0.85 for 48 h before suspicion by aggregating information across demographics and a set of 163 vital signs and laboratory measurements. A second model trained on a reduced feature space comprising demographics and the 36 most frequently measured vital signs and laboratory measurements can still achieve an AUC of 0.86 at 1 h before clinical suspicion. These results compare favorably against using temperature alone and clinical rules such as the quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score. Along with the performance results, we also provide an analysis of model interpretability via feature importance rankings.ConclusionThe predictive model aggregates information from multiple physiological parameters such as vital signs and laboratory measurements to provide a continuous risk score of infection that can be deployed in hospitals to provide advance warning of patient deterioration.

Recent research has emphasized the interaction between the circadian clock and lipid metabolism, particularly in relation to tumors. This review aims to explore how the circadian clock regulates lipid metabolism and its impact on carcinogenesis. Specifically, targeting key enzymes involved in fatty acid synthesis (SREBP, ACLY, ACC, FASN, and SCD) has been identified as a potential strategy for cancer therapy. By disrupting these enzymes, it may be possible to inhibit tumor growth by interfering with lipid metabolism. Transcription factors, like SREBP play a significant role in regulating fatty acid synthesis which is influenced by circadian clock genes such as BMAL1, REV-ERB and DEC. This suggests a strong connection between fatty acid synthesis and the circadian clock. Therefore, successful combination therapy should target fatty acid synthesis in addition to considering the timing and duration of drug use. Ultimately, personalized chronotherapy can enhance drug efficacy in cancer treatment and achieve treatment goals

Salinity is a major factor limiting rice productivity, and developing salt-tolerant (ST) varieties is the most efficient approach. Seventy-eight ST introgression lines (ILs), including nine promising lines with improved ST and yield potential (YP), were developed from four BC2F4 populations from inter-subspecific crosses between an elite Geng (japonica) recipient and four Xian (indica) donors at the Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Genome-wide characterization of donor introgression identified 35 ST QTLs, 25 of which harbor 38 cloned ST genes as the most likely QTL candidates. Thirty-four are Xian-Geng differentiated ones with the donor (Xian) alleles associated with ST, suggesting differentiated responses to salt stress were one of the major phenotypic differences between the two subspecies. At least eight ST QTLs and many others affecting yield traits were identified under salt/non-stress conditions. Our results indicated that the Xian gene pool contains rich ‘hidden’ genetic variation for developing superior Geng varieties with improved ST and YP, which could be efficiently exploited by selective introgression. The developed ST ILs and their genetic information on the donor alleles for ST and yield traits would provide a useful platform for developing superior ST and high-yield Geng varieties through breeding by design in the future.

Plain Language Summary Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a cerebrovascular disease that generally affects young patients. Medical treatments include anticoagulants, intracranial pressure (ICP)-lowering medications, and repeated lumbar punctures, effectively reducing CVST’s mortality rate. However, CVST still carries a potential risk of progressive vision loss. Optic nerve sheath fenestration (ONSF) has been reported to be effective and safe in protecting visual function of patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. However, its efficacy and safety have not been evaluated in visual loss caused by CVST. We were the first to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ONSF in CVST-induced progressive visual loss based on long-term follow-ups. Before ONSF, all patients were still experiencing progressive visual loss despite receiving adequate anticoagulation and ICP-lowering therapy. We found ONSF to be 80.6% (1 week postoperatively) and 60.7% (after long-term follow-up of over 6 months) effective in stabilizing and/or improving visual function as well as 100% effective in papilledema resolution. Moreover, ONSF exhibited a favorable safety profile, with an extremely low complication rate of 5.6% despite under perioperative anticoagulation. Although visual impairment in CVST was reported to be uncommon, it often significantly affects quality of life and social value of patients. Thus, visual loss in CVST deserves more attention from neurologists, neurosurgeons, and ophthalmologists. Considering its efficacy and favorable safety, ONSF could be regarded a potentially important adjunctive approach to resolving progressive visual loss in CVST patients, on the basis of anticoagulation and ICP-lowering therapy. Procedural videos available for this article.

Purpose Spinal cord injury (SCI) destroys the sensorimotor pathway and induces brain plasticity. However, the effect of treatment-induced spinal cord tissue regeneration on brain functional reorganization remains unclear. This study was designed to investigate the large-scale functional interactions in the brains of adult female Rhesus monkeys with injured and regenerated thoracic spinal cord.Materials and methods Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) combined with Granger Causality analysis (GCA) and motor behaviour analysis were used to assess the causal interaction between sensorimotor cortices, and calculate the relationship between causal interaction and hindlimb stepping in nine Rhesus monkeys undergoing lesion-induced spontaneous recovery (injured, n = 4) and neurotrophin-3/chitosan transplantation-induced regeneration (NT3-chitosan, n = 5) after SCI.Results The results showed that the injured and NT3-chitosan-treated animals had distinct spatiotemporal features of brain functional reorganization. The spontaneous recovery followed the model of “early intra-hemispheric reorganization dominant, late inter-hemispheric reorganization dominant”, whereas regenerative therapy animals showed the opposite trend. Although the variation degree of information flow intensity was consistent, the tendency and the relationship between local neuronal activity properties and coupling strength were different between the two groups. In addition, the injured and NT3-chitosan-treated animals had similar motor adjustments but various relationship modes between motor performance and information flow intensity.Conclusions Our findings show that brain functional reorganization induced by regeneration therapy differed from spontaneous recovery after SCI. The influence of unique changes in brain plasticity on the therapeutic effects of future regeneration therapy strategies should be considered. Key messagesNeural regeneration elicited a unique spatiotemporal mode of brain functional reorganization in the spinal cord injured monkeys, and that regeneration does not simply reverse the process of brain plasticity induced by spinal cord injury (SCI).Independent “properties of local activity – intensity of information flow” relationships between the injured and treated animals indicating that spontaneous recovery and regenerative therapy exerted different effects on the reorganization of the motor network after SCI.A specific information flow from the left thalamus to the right insular can serve as an indicator to reflect a heterogeneous “information flow – motor performance” relationship between injured and treated animals at similar motor adjustments.

IntroductionEpidural electrical stimulation (EES) has been shown to improve motor dysfunction after spinal cord injury (SCI) by activating residual locomotor neural networks. However, the stimulation current often spreads excessively, leading to activation of non-target muscles and reducing the accuracy of stimulation regulation.ObjectivesNear-infrared nerve stimulation (nINS) was combined with EES to explore its regulatory effect on lower limb muscle activity in spinal-cord-transected rats.MethodsIn this study, stimulation electrodes were implanted into the rats’ L3–L6 spinal cord segment with T8 cord transected. Firstly, a series of EES parameters (0.2–0.6 mA and 20–60 Hz) were tested to determine those that specifically regulate the tibialis anterior (TA) and medial gastrocnemius (MG). Subsequently, to determine the effect of combined optical and electrical stimulation, near-infrared laser with a wavelength of 808 nm was used to irradiate the L3–L6 spinal cord segment while EES was performed. The amplitude of electromyography (EMG), the specific activation intensity of the target muscle, and the minimum stimulus current intensity to induce joint movement (motor threshold) under a series of optical stimulation parameters (power: 0.0–2.0 W; pulse width: 0–10 ms) were investigated and analyzed.ResultsEES stimulation with 40 Hz at the L3 and L6 spinal cord segments specifically activated TA and MG, respectively. High stimulation intensity (>2 × motor threshold) activated non-target muscles, while low stimulation frequency (

Predicting the duration of ventilation in the ICU helps in assessing the risk of ventilator-induced lung injury, ensuring sufficient oxygenation, and optimizing resource allocation. Prior models provided a prediction of total duration without distinguishing between invasive and non-invasive ventilation. This work proposes two independent gradient boosting regression models for predicting the duration of invasive and non-invasive ventilation based on commonly available ICU features. These models are trained on 2.6 million patient stays across 350 US hospitals between 2010 to 2019. The mean absolute error (MAE) for the prediction of duration was 2.08 days for invasive ventilation and 0.36 days for non-invasive ventilation. The total ventilation duration predicted by our model had MAE of 2.38 days, which outperformed the gold standard (APACHE) with MAE of 3.02 days. The feature importance analysis of the trained models showed that, for invasive ventilation, high average heart rate, diagnosis of respiratory infection and admissions from locations other than the operating room were associated with longer ventilation durations. For non-invasive ventilation, higher respiratory rates and having any GCS measurement were associated with longer durations.

Parasitoids commonly manipulate their host’s metabolism and immunity to facilitate their offspring survival, but the mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we deconstructed the manipulation strategy of a newly discovered parasitoid wasp, L. myrica, which parasitizes D. melanogaster. Using RNA-seq, we analyzed transcriptomes of L. myrica-parasitized and non-parasitized Drosophila host larvae. A total of 22.29 Gb and 23.85 Gb of clean reads were obtained from the two samples, respectively, and differential expression analysis identified 445 DEGs. Of them, 304 genes were upregulated and 141 genes were downregulated in parasitized hosts compared with non-parasitized larvae. Based on the functional annotations in the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases, we found that the genes involved in host nutrition metabolism were significantly upregulated, particularly in carbohydrate, amino acid, and lipid metabolism. We also identified 30 other metabolism-related DEGs, including hexokinase, fatty acid synthase, and UDP-glycosyltransferase (Ugt) genes. We observed that five Bomanin genes (Boms) and six antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were upregulated. Moreover, a qRT-PCR analysis of 12 randomly selected DEGs confirmed the reproducibility and accuracy of the RNA-seq data. Our results provide a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of how L. myrica manipulates its host, laying a solid foundation for studies on the regulatory mechanisms employed by parasitoid wasps in their hosts.

Five new naphthalene derivatives dalesconosides A–D, F (1–4, 6), a known synthetic analogue named dalesconoside E (5), and eighteen known compounds (7–24) were isolated from Daldinia eschscholzii MCZ-18, which is an endophytic fungus obtained from the Chinese mangrove plant Ceriops tagal. Differing from previously reported naphthalenes, compounds 1 and 2 were bearing a rare ribofuranoside substituted at C-1 and the 5-methyltetrahydrofuran-2,3-diol moiety, respectively. Their structures were determined by detailed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectroscopic (MS) analyses, while the absolute configurations were established by theoretical electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation. Compounds 1, 3, 13–17 and 19 showed broad ranges of antimicrobial spectrum against five indicator test microorganisms (Enterococcus faecalis, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans); especially, 1, 16 and 17 were most potent. The variations in structure and attendant biological activities provided fresh insights concerning structure−activity relationships for the naphthalene derivatives.

Developing novel, safe, and efficient proangiogenic drugs is an important approach for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In this study, 4 new compounds, including 3 azaphilones (1–3) and 1 dihydroisocoumarin (4), as well as 13 known compounds (5–17), were isolated from the sea-mud-derived fungus Neopestalotiopsis sp. HN-1-6 from the Beibu Gulf of China. The structures of the new compounds were determined by NMR, MS, ECD, and NMR calculations. Compounds 3, 5, and 7 exhibited noteworthy proangiogenic activities in a zebrafish model at a concentration of 40 μM, without displaying cytotoxicity toward five human cell lines. In addition, some compounds demonstrated antibacterial effects against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans, with MIC values ranging from 64 μg/mL to 256 μg/mL.

Abstract The development, maturation, and plasticity of neural circuits are strongly influenced by experience and the interaction of an individual with their environment can have a long-lasting effect on cognitive function. Using an enriched environment (EE) paradigm, we have recently demonstrated that enhancing social, physical, and sensory activity during the pre-weaning time in mice led to an increase of inhibitory and excitatory synapses in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. The structural plasticity induced by experience may affect information processing in the circuit. The DG performs pattern separation, a computation that enables the encoding of very similar and overlapping inputs into dissimilar outputs. In the presented study, we have tested the hypothesis that an EE in juvenile mice will affect DG’s functions that are relevant for pattern separation: the decorrelation of the inputs from the entorhinal cortex (EC) and the recruitment of the principal excitatory granule cell (GC) during behavior. First, using a novel slice electrophysiology protocol, we found that the transformation of the incoming signal from the EC afferents by individual GC is moderately affected by EE. We further show that EE does not affect behaviorally induced recruitment of principal excitatory GC. Lastly, using the novel object recognition task, a hippocampus-dependent memory test, we show that the ontogeny of this discrimination task was similar among the EE mice and the controls. Taken together, our work demonstrates that pre-weaning enrichment moderately affects DG function.

In this study, we investigate the generation of parametric decay instability, Langmuir turbulence formation, and electron acceleration in ionospheric heating via a two-fluid model using the Fokker–Planck equation and Vlasov–Poisson system simulations. The simulation results of both the magnetofluid model and the kinetic model demonstrate the dynamics of electron acceleration. Further, the results of the Vlasov–Poisson simulations suggest the formation of electron holes in phase space at the same spatial scale as the Langmuir wave, which are shown to be related to electron acceleration. In addition, electron acceleration is enhanced through the extension of the wavenumber spectrum caused by strong Langmuir turbulence, leading to more electron holes in phase space.

Summary: Graph theory-based analysis describes the brain as a complex network. Only a few studies have examined modular composition and functional connectivity (FC) between modules in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). Little is known about the longitudinal changes in hubs and topological properties at the modular level after SCI and treatment. We analyzed differences in FC and nodal metrics reflecting modular interaction to investigate brain reorganization after SCI-induced compensation and neurotrophin-3 (NT3)–chitosan-induced regeneration. Mean inter-modular FC and participation coefficient of areas related to motor coordination were significantly higher in the treatment animals than in the SCI-only ones at the late stage. The magnocellular part of the red nucleus may reflect the best difference in brain reorganization after SCI and therapy. Treatment can enhance information flows between regions and promote the integration of motor functions to return to normal. These findings may reveal the information processing of disrupted network modules.

Parametric decay instability (PDI) is an important process in ionospheric heating. This paper focuses on the frequency and wavevector matching condition in the initial PDI process, the subsequent cascade stage, and the generation of strong Langmuir turbulence. A more general numerical model is established based on Maxwell equations and plasma dynamic equations by coupling high-frequency electromagnetic waves to low-frequency waves via ponderomotive force. The primary PDI, cascade process, and strong Langmuir turbulence are excited in the simulation. The matching condition in the initial PDI stage and cascade process is verified. The result indicates that the cascade ion acoustic wave may induce or accelerate the formation of cavitons and lead to the wavenumber spectrum being more enhanced at 2kL (where kL is the primary Langmuir wavenumber). The wavenumber spectra develop from discrete to continuous spectra, which is attributed to the caviton collapse and strong Langmuir turbulence.

The co-culture strategy, which mimics natural ecology by constructing an artificial microbial community, is a useful tool for the activation of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) to generate new metabolites, as well as to increase the yield of respective target metabolites. As part of our project aiming at the discovery of structurally novel and biologically active natural products from mangrove endophytic fungi, we selected the co-culture of a strain of Phomopsis asparagi DHS-48 with another Phomopsis genus fungus DHS-11, both endophyted in mangrove Rhizophora mangle considering the impart of the taxonomic criteria and ecological data. The competition interaction of the two strains was investigated through morphology observation and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and it was found that the mycelia of the DHS-48 and DHS-11 compacted and tangled with each other with an interwoven pattern in the co-culture system. A new approach that integrates HPLC chromatogram, 1HNMR spectroscopy, UPLC-MS-PCA, and molecular networking enabled the targeted isolation of the induced metabolites, including three new dimeric xanthones phomoxanthones L-N (1–3), along with six known analogs (4–9). Their planar structures were elucidated by an analysis of their HRMS, MS/MS, and NMR spectroscopic data and the absolute configurations based on ECD calculations. These metabolites showed broad cytotoxic activity against the cancer cells assessed, of which compounds 7–9 displayed significant cytotoxicity towards human liver cells HepG-2 with IC50 values ranging from 4.83 μM to 12.06 μM. Compounds 1–6 exhibited weak immunosuppressive activity against the proliferation of ConA-induced (T-cell) and LPS-induced (B-cell) murine splenic lymphocytes. Therefore, combining co-cultivation with a metabolomics-guided strategy as a discovery tool will be implemented as a systematic strategy for the quick discovery of target bioactive compounds.

The development of novel strategies for the synthesis of water-soluble alloy nanoclusters (NCs) and investigations of their alloying mechanisms are highly desirable. Herein, we report the design of a metal ion-induced alloying strategy for the synthesis of atomically precise water-soluble alloy NCs. The transformation of Au15(GSH)13 NCs as model seeds (here GSH denotes water-soluble glutathione) into Au18−xAgx(GSH)14 NCs was triggered using Ag(I) ions; subsequently, Au(III) ions were employed to convert the variable-composition Au18−xAgx(GSH)14 NCs into fixed-composition alloy Au26Ag(GSH)17Cl2 NCs. Monitoring of the alloying process showed that the formation of Au18−xAgx(GSH)14 NCs proceeds through the two electron-hopping events (2e− Au15 → 2e− (AuAg)15–17 → 4e− (AuAg)18–19 → 4e− (AuAg)18), whereas the transformation of (AuAg)18 into Au26Ag mainly involved the formation of intermediate species Au26(GSH)17Cln (n = 0–2). Moreover, we determined that the single Ag atom in Au26Ag NCs resides on the NC surface. This study not only provides a novel strategy for the synthesis of water-soluble alloy NCs but also contributes to the fundamental understanding of the alloying mechanism of metal NCs.

Abstract Spinal cord injury (SCI) may cause structural alterations in brain due to pathophysiological processes, but the effects of SCI treatment on brain have rarely been reported. Here, voxel-based morphometry is employed to investigate the effects of SCI and neurotrophin-3 (NT3) coupled chitosan-induced regeneration on brain and spinal cord structures in rhesus monkeys. Possible association between brain and spinal cord structural alterations is explored. The pain sensitivity and stepping ability of animals are collected to evaluate sensorimotor functional alterations. Compared with SCI, the unique effects of NT3 treatment on brain structure appear in extensive regions which involved in motor control and neuropathic pain, such as right visual cortex, superior parietal lobule, left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, insula, secondary somatosensory cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and bilateral caudate nucleus. Particularly, the structure of insula is significantly correlated with the pain sensitivity. Regenerative treatment also shows a protective effect on spinal cord structure. The associations between brain and spinal cord structural alterations are observed in right primary somatosensory cortex, SFG, and other regions. These results help further elucidate secondary effects on brain of SCI and provide a basis for evaluating the effects of NT3 treatment on brain structure.

The genus Trisiniotus Jeannel of the pselaphine tribe Batrisini comprises two species distributed in North India and southern Myanmar. Here, a third species, T. taoismus Feng & Yin sp. nov., is described from Mao-shan, Jiangsu Province, East China. The new species can be readily distinguished from both congeners by the unmodified male antennae.

Abstract Background Nicotinamide (NAM) is an important antioxidant, which is closely related to female fertility, but its role has not been clearly elucidated. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of NAM on follicular development at different stages and the quality of oocytes. Methods The concentration of NAM in follicular fluid (FF) of 236 women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) was ascertained by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the correlation between NAM and clinical indexes was analyzed. During the in vitro maturation (IVM) of mice cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs), different concentrations of NAM were added to check the maturation rate and fertilization rate. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in the oocytes treated with different hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and NAM were assessed. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to measure the proportion of abnormal spindles. Results The level of NAM in large follicles was significantly higher than that in small follicles. In mature FF, the NAM concentration was positively correlated with the rates of oocyte maturation and fertilization. Five mM NAM treatment during IVM increased maturation rate and fertilization rate in the oxidative stress model, and significantly reduced the increase of ROS levels induced by H2O2 in mice oocytes. Conclusions Higher levels of NAM in FF are associated with larger follicle development. The supplement of 5 mM NAM during IVM may improve mice oocyte quality, reducing damage caused by oxidative stress.

Abstract Infectious threats, like the COVID-19 pandemic, hinder maintenance of a productive and healthy workforce. If subtle physiological changes precede overt illness, then proactive isolation and testing can reduce labor force impacts. This study hypothesized that an early infection warning service based on wearable physiological monitoring and predictive models created with machine learning could be developed and deployed. We developed a prototype tool, first deployed June 23, 2020, that delivered continuously updated scores of infection risk for SARS-CoV-2 through April 8, 2021. Data were acquired from 9381 United States Department of Defense (US DoD) personnel wearing Garmin and Oura devices, totaling 599,174 user-days of service and 201 million hours of data. There were 491 COVID-19 positive cases. A predictive algorithm identified infection before diagnostic testing with an AUC of 0.82. Barriers to implementation included adequate data capture (at least 48% data was needed) and delays in data transmission. We observe increased risk scores as early as 6 days prior to diagnostic testing (2.3 days average). This study showed feasibility of a real-time risk prediction score to minimize workforce impacts of infection.

IntroductionDrought and submergence are contrasting abiotic stresses that often occur in the same rice crop season and cause complete crop failure in many rain-fed lowland areas of Asia.MethodsTo develop rice varieties with good tolerances to drought and submergence, 260 introgression lines (ILs) selected for drought tolerance (DT) from nine BC2 populations were screened for submergence tolerance (ST), resulting in 124 ILs with significantly improved ST.ResultsGenetic characterization of the 260 ILs with DNA markers identified 59 DT quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and 68 ST QTLs with an average 55% of the identified QTLs associated with both DT and ST. Approximately 50% of the DT QTLs showed ‘epigenetic’ segregation with very high donor introgression and/or loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Detailed comparison of the ST QTLs identified in ILs selected only for ST with ST QTLs detected in the DT-ST selected ILs of the same populations revealed three groups of QTLs underlying the relationship between DT and ST in rice: a) QTLs with pleiotropic effects on both DT and ST; b) QTLs with opposite effects on DT and ST; and c) QTLs with independent effects on DT and ST. Combined evidence identified most likely candidate genes for eight major QTLs affecting both DT and ST. Moreover, group b QTLs were involved in the Sub1regulated pathway that were negatively associated with most group aQTLs.DiscussionThese results were consistent with the current knowledge that DT and ST in rice are controlled by complex cross-talks between or among different phytohormone-mediated signaling pathways. Again, the results demonstrated that the strategy of selective introgression was powerful and efficient for simultaneous improvement and genetic dissection of multiple complex traits, including DT and ST.

A switchable multi-wavelength thulium-doped fiber laser (TDFL) using either two-stage cascaded or two-segment Sagnac loop filters are proposed and analyzed. Both filters incorporate a 3-m and 1.7-m long polarization-maintaining fiber, which acts as a comb filter. By adjusting two polarization controllers, when the TDFL used a cascaded Sagnac loop filter, eight stable single-wavelength operations were obtained with easy switching among them. The wavelength range was 16.36 nm during the single-wavelength switchable operation, with the optical signal-to-noise ratio up to 55 dB. This TDFL can achieve at most quintuple-wavelength operation. When the TDFL used a two-segment Sagnac loop filter, we achieved single-wavelength and dual-wavelength switchable. This TDFL can achieve at most stable quadruple-wavelength operation. In dual-wavelength switchable operation, the maximum and minimum wavelength spacings were 21.78 nm and 1.50 nm. Due to its abundant range of wavelengths, the proposed TDFLs has great potential in wavelength-division multiplexing.

Transverse mode instability (TMI) limits the power scaling of high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers. One method of mitigating TMI is to strip unwanted modes by bending the fiber. However, the bending-induced mode distortion will change the TMI coefficient and influences the TMI threshold. In this work, we analyzed the bending effects on the mode profiles by inducing different refractive index tilts corresponding to different bending radii. With these mode profiles and with different bending conditions, a modified TMI coefficient was calculated to analyze the bending effects on TMI for different fibers. The simulation results show that tighter bending can lead to a somewhat lower TMI coefficient and slightly improve the TMI threshold.

This study proposes and demonstrates a widely wavelength-swept single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) enabled by a dual-coupler-ring based compound-cavity (DCR-CC) filter, a fiber Fabry-Pérot tunable filter (FFP-TF) and a C+L-band erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). Moreover, it develops a novel methodology utilizing the signal-flow graph combined with the matrix algebra to analyze the DCR-CC filter and obtain its essential design parameters for SLM selection of the EDFL. The C+L-band EDFA is constructed to provide a gain range >90 nm. On the other hand, it demonstrates that, under a sweep-rate ≤100 Hz, a lasing wavelength-swept range >87 nm is obtained, the SLM operation is permanently guaranteed for every instantaneous lasing wavelength. Furthermore, the instantaneous lasing parameters of an optical signal-to-noise ratio ≥66 dB, a relative intensity noise ≤−153.33 dB/Hz@≥3 MHz, a linewidth ≤625 Hz and a power fluctuation ≤0.704 dB are achieved. The distinguished performance of the proposed fiber laser enables it to have a significant potential for application in optical frequency domain reflectometry, spectroscopy and Lidar system.

We propose and demonstrate a stable single-longitudinal mode (SLM) thulium-doped fiber laser (TDFL) with a Fabry- Pérot (F-P) fiber Bragg grating (FBG) filter and a triple-coupler based double-ring cavity (TC-DRC) filter. For the first time, this structure of TC-DRC filter is used to select a single mode from dense longitudinal-modes in a ring cavity TDFL. The design and fabricate methods of TC-DRC filter are revealed and the principle of SLM selection is also analyzed in detail. The experimental results demonstrated the good performance of the proposed filter. The central wavelength of proposed TDFL is 2049.49 nm and its OSNR is higher than 35 dB. There is no obvious wavelength drift during the test, and the power fluctuation is less 0.5 dB. The SLM operation is verified through the self-homodyne method, this laser can be stably maintained in a SLM state after operating for one hour under laboratory condition. In addition, the linewidth is measured less than 10 kHz based on the phase noise demodulation method.

A switchable and tunable six-wavelength single-longitudinal mode (SLM) thulium-doped fiber laser in the 2050 nm band is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Two cascaded sampled fiber Bragg gratings (SFBGs), acted as an integrated six-channel reflector, are to define the lasing wavelength channels in a multi-wavelength switchable fiber laser for the first time. The switchability of the fiber laser was realized by polarization-dependent loss modulation. SLM lasing in each channel was guaranteed by a novel passive dual-ring compound cavity (DRCC), composed of two symmetric 3 × 3 optical couplers (OCs). Six single-wavelength operations are easily obtained and switched, with the high optical signal-to-noise ratios of >71 dB, >72 dB, >62 dB for λ11–λ13 and > 65 dB, >61 dB, >59 dB for λ21–λ23, respectively. The maximum power and wavelength fluctuations are as low as 0.56 dB and 0.01 nm, respectively. The measured laser linewidths ranged from 7.5 to 9.2 kHz, calculated by the β-separation line method based on the measured frequency noise spectra. Nine switchable dual-wavelength operations with different wavelength intervals and two triple-wavelength operations were also obtained. Our proposed fiber laser has great potential in free-space optical communication.

A multi-wavelength thulium-doped fiber laser incorporating a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) Sagnac loop was presented and experimentally demonstrated. In the laser cavity, the Sagnac loop mirror used a 0.5 m PCF as a comb filter. A nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR)-based 600 m single-mode fiber (SMF) was used to suppress the mode competition. By adjusting the polarization controllers (PCs), up to nine stable wavelength outputs near the 2 μm spectrum were obtained at room temperature with an optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of up to 30 dB. The channel spacing of this fiber laser is 4.88 nm, and the 10 dB bandwidth encompasses 1950.39 to 1989.43 nm.

A five-wavelength-switchable thulium-doped fiber laser with a fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based five-channel transmitting Fabry-Pérot (F-P) filter and a multi-coupler based triple-ring cavity (CTRC) filter, is experimentally proposed. For the first time, a multi-channel F-P filter and specially-designed coupler-based compound cavity filter were combined to realize multi-wavelength-switchable operation, with single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) lasing for each wavelength channel in a 2 µm band fiber laser. The theoretical analysis of the CTRC filter and the principle for achieving SLM operation by corporately using the F-P filter and CTRC filter were presented in detail. The experimental results demonstrated the good performance of the proposed filters. Five lasing wavelengths (1941.13 nm, 1941.22 nm, 1941.30 nm, 1941.39 nm, and 1941.47 nm) were obtained with good switchability, and each operated in a stable SLM state. The OSNR of each lasing wavelength was higher than 50 dB, and the linewidths of all obtained wavelengths were less than 8 kHz.

This paper examines the relationship between local venture capital (VC) funds and portfolio enterprise internationalization from the perspective of limited partners (LPs). Based on a sample consist of 581 listed enterprises invested by local VC funds in China during 2009–2021, it’s found that, compared to the VC funds invested by local LPs completely (LLP_VC), the VC funds with foreign LP investment (FLP_VC) are more likely to help portfolio enterprises list overseas. If FLP_VC syndicates or act as a major investor, it will have a greater role in promoting the internationalization of enterprises.

Abstract The critical immune effectors, including T, B, and natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages participate in regulating immune responses during pregnancy. Among these immune cells, decidual NK (dNK) cells are involved in key placental development processes at the maternal–fetal interface, such as uterine spiral artery remodeling, trophoblast invasion, and decidualization. Mechanistically, dNK cells significantly influence pregnancy outcome by secreting cytokines, chemokines, and angiogenic mediators and by their interactions with trophoblasts and other decidual cells. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that participate in the initiation and progression of human diseases. Although the functions of circulating miRNAs in pathological mechanism has been extensively studied, the regulatory roles of miRNAs in NK cells, especially in dNK cells, have been rarely reported. In this review, we analyze the effects of miRNA regulations of dNK cell functions on the immune system during gestation. We discuss aberrant expressions of certain miRNAs in dNK cells that may lead to pathological consequences, such as recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). Interestingly, miRNA expression patterns are also different between dNK cells and peripheral NK (pNK) cells, and pNK cells in the first- and third‐trimester of gestation. The dysregulation of miRNA plays a pivotal regulatory role in driving immune functions of dNK and pNK cells. Further understanding of the molecular mechanisms of miRNAs in dNK cells may provide new insights into the development of therapeutics to prevent pregnancy failure.